Having been established in 1962, Audio-Technica is unquestionably not a newcomer to the audio industry. They produce a wide range of goods, including just about any kind of headphones you can imagine and even some vinyl accessories. The Audio Technica ATH-CKS50TW wireless earbuds, according to the maker, provide “a unique and personal audio experience” and have a total battery life of up to 50 hours.
Design
New 9mm drivers in the ATH-CKS50TW are supposed to produce improved bass response. The S50s have many of the capabilities that are becoming commonplace in contemporary true wireless earbuds, such as modes for monitoring ambient noise and noise cancellation, apps with customization choices, and support for 3D Spatial Audio. Before needing to be recharged, the earbuds can play music continuously for 20 hours, and the case can store music for an extra 30 hours. The ATH-CKS50TW doesn’t have a particularly appealing appearance. They have a beveled, touchable pattern. It may take some getting accustomed to if you haven’t used in-ear earphones in a while. These earbuds are noise cancelling and weigh roughly 8 grammes (0.28 oz). They have rubber tips and a closed acoustic construction. Each earbud has a single button that controls volume, digital noise cancellation, audio playback, and music playing. Because each ear has a separate purpose, we were never really able to figure out which button to press, so it always seemed a little strange.
Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50TW review: Comfort
Due to the CKS50’s large size, people with small ears may experience fit troubles. They are nearly as big as Sony’s enormous WF-1000XM4, but not quite. In spite of this, they have a very pleasant design with a softly tapering horn as long as your ears can accommodate them. To assist you obtain a proper seal, A-T offers silicone ear tips in four sizes. We discovered that the default mediums were perfect for us. We were pleasantly astonished to see that despite their size, they remained seated throughout a workout. We could wear them for up to two hours before needing a break, and they were also very comfortable. The easy-to-reach multifunction control buttons on each bud also provide tactile feedback and a brief tone to let you know if you’ve single-, double-, or triple-clicked. Unfortunately, the buttons have very little travel and are a little mushy, making multi-click commands a little challenging.
Connectivity
The CKS50 pairs with iOS devices just as quickly and easily as it pairs with Android devices thanks to Google Fast Pair. The connection is strong and very dependable thanks to Bluetooth 5.2; during testing, there were zero dropouts. Even better, Bluetooth Multipoint compatibility allows you to smoothly move between two associated devices that are active at the same time, such as a PC and a phone. also you will learn our article on Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50TW review. The A-T Connect app does a fantastic job of letting you manage connected devices, showing which ones are active and connected as well as which ones you’ve previously connected to. It also allows you to remotely put the earbuds into pairing mode so you can add additional devices without having to fiddle with the earbud controls. It offers the best multi-device compatibility that we have ever seen in a companion app. And while you may use each earbud separately for music and calls, you cannot divide them across associated devices.
Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50TW review: Noise cancelling
Although they function rather well, the active noise cancellation and hear-through modes fall short of what I would anticipate from earbuds that cost as much as the ATH-CKS50TW. It is difficult to recommend the ATH-CKS50TW on the basis of their noise cancellation because although the ANC significantly reduced the rumbling from a busy road and the hear-through allowed me to have a reasonable sense of my surroundings, less expensive alternatives like the Creative Outlier Pro cover both areas more effectively. Unbelievably, neither earbud has actual control buttons nor touch-sensitive receptors in the raised circles on the outside. Controls are now limited to two tiny buttons on top of the earbuds by Audio-Technica. These buttons are not only more difficult to press repeatedly and quickly than side-mounted controls, but they also make double- and triple-tap functionalities more difficult than they are worth.
Audio performance
The CKS50’s sound can be significantlydistorted with the EQ adjustment, just like with all headphones that allow the user to modify some aspects of how they sound. The flat settings the audio engineers chose, however, are the greatest way to hear the Audio-Technica, as they are with practically every other set of headphones with similar capability. No matter how hard you try, you won’t be able to make them sound any better. The CKS50 are lively, educational, and entertaining to listen to when the EQ settings are left alone while The Raincoats’ Fairytale in the Supermarket is being streamed on TIDAL. The performance’s simple intensity and elementary skill are well portrayed, and it is clear that the musicians are working together to create a cohesive whole. The Audio-Technica does not overly emphasise or underplay any region of the frequency range; rather, each area is given the prominence it deserves. Bass notes have a great shape, are rich in tonal and timbral information, and are rather straight-edged in terms of attack and decay. Instead, treble sounds have just about acceptable degrees of bite and shine at the opposite end, which is this close to overconfidence but never quite gets there. Every wavering note and approximate tuning of the voice lines in this song sound immediate and incredibly charming because to the midrange fidelity the CKS50 are capable of.
Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50TW review: Call performance
Overall, the ATH-CKS50 has excellent calling. They have some trouble blocking out background noise, like most wireless earbuds, but what we appreciate is that they don’t muffle your voice in the process. You sound quieter and further away as a result of the minor reduction of microphone gain. However, if you can get them somewhere quieter, your voice will be crystal clear, very genuine, and full of resonance. Even more unusually, as we can attest, a coworker commented on it during a Microsoft Teams call. The Jabra Elite 7 Pro and the AirPods Pro both provide good voice feedback, and both include a selectable side-tone option. If there is a drawback to calling on these buds, it’s that even with side-tone set on, your voice will still sound a little muffled to your own ears.
Battery and charging
The Audio-Technica ATH-long-lasting CKS50TW’s batteries are one of its unique features, and they can surpass the previous record of 20 hours of basic mode at high volume. 15 hours and 30 minutes can be obtained per charge if noise cancelling is always enabled. These in-ears may be fully charged once in the charging case and then charged up to 60% until an external power source is required. As a result, the combined runtime in ANC mode and standard mode is greater than 40 hours. The headphones require little under three hours to charge fully. However, if you need to listen for up to two hours quickly, you can utilize the quick-charge feature, which requires only 10 minutes of power. A USB-C to USB-A charging cable is provided in the packaging, and it takes two hours and 45 minutes to fully recharge the charging case’s battery. The case does not, however, enable Qi wireless charging. also you can check our article on Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50TW review.
Price
The price of the Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50TW is now $199, £149, or $249. You and we both know that there are several truly wireless in-ear headphones available for this price point. Some of them are made by companies whose reputations are even better than Audio- Technica’s, while others are made by companies you may have never heard of, but all of them want your business. Therefore, Audio-Technica has its work cut out for it if it wants to present a strong case for the ATH-CKS50TW. As if that were necessary to say.
Conclusion
A real Wireless Earbuds research must consider the user’s environment and convenience in addition to sound quality. The ATH-CKS50TW excels at providing superb sound quality that is perfect for everyday usage in addition to being simple to use, portable, and comfy. At this pricing point, they handily outperform any other set of true wireless earbuds. We strongly recommend the ATH-CKS50TW if you’re wanting to replace your current set of headphones.
